LG Dishwasher Water not draining fast enough, OE error code

My dishwasher is 15 months old. When I first started using the dishwasher I noticed occasionally I would come back and see error code flashing on the dishwasher. I would always restart the cycle and it would complete with no problem. Starting this week, my dishwasher started giving an OE error code every time I ran it. I called a company to come out and take a look at it. The technician looked at it and told me that I needed to remove my floor in the kitchen so he could pull the dishwasher back and look at the drain hose. He told me it looked like the drain hose was clogged because when he blew on the drain hose he didn't see any bubbles. It would cost me $260 to fix the hose, plus my cost to remove the laminate. After he left I took the drain hose off of the connection to the garbage disposal and put it in a bucket then I ran the dishwasher. The water came out of the dishwasher into the bucket and filled it up. When I lifted the hose up to the height of the dishwasher drain, the water stopped coming out. Can anyone explain why it would drain when it was low but stop when I raise it? Is the technician right and I have a clogged hose?

If it would be clogged, it would be clogged in any position. Have you removed the drain hose and taken a look at the pump? What model LG is your dishwasher? Any chance you still have factory or dealer warranty?

At this point I haven't had a chance to remove the lament flooring. I'm planning on removing it this morning so I can pull the dishwasher out and take a better look at the drain line. I didn't think it made any sense that it would drain well is the line was low but wouldn't if I raised the line. I was thinking the pump might be putting out low pressure but I wasn't sure how to determine if that was the case.

Update: Called the original installer out to look at the dishwasher. He removed a excess drain line and moved the high loop from under the cabinet next to the sink to under the sink and it worked fine. When I called the warranty service company to look at the dishwasher they told me the drain line was clogged, that it wasn't covered by the warranty and that it would be $269. Bottom line: if it doesn't make sense, don't take the warranty repair mans word for it. Also, just because it have a warranty doesn't mean that they will fix it for free.

I have this issue too. I replaced the drain pump. I cleaned the hoses. I don't have a garbage disposal. It has run once butonly on quick and only once. Is there a filter or chopper in the sump assembly that could be clogged? Help. I'm so sick of this dishwasher. Got it on clearance at HD and it was actually used. I know because when I checked the drain it was not new. They repackaged to look new and refused to take it back.

This is a common issue with LG, there is a hose that connects the Drain pump to the main wash pump (this gets clogged with rice, corn peas all the time ).

you will need a Phillips screwdriver and a pair of pliers (wide mouthed)

1. turn the dishwasher onto its back and remove the lower base plate

2. Use pliers to remove the holding rings and remove both hoses that lead to the drain "both upper and lower" *the upper one has a one way valve (its a flap or plastic) this slows and traps the majority of gunk

3. flash and wash the pipes,

4. remove the top of the drain pump (twist counter clockwise * there is a little safety catch that needs to be pressed in before it will turn)

We have been fussing with this issue for months. Sometimes the dishwasher works well, other times not at all. Frustrating. A handyman came yesterday to look at it. He took the cap off the drain that is beside the faucet, put in a snake and pulled out a piece of hard plastic that was partially blocking the drain. We surmise that it would move around, thus allowing the machine to work sometimes. He said he's seen it a lot, and it's always the first thing he checks. Problem solved in about one minute, for $20, which he didn't want to take!

Kristen I want your handyman! We are having the exact same issue with our almost 4 year old dishwasher. I want to blow this stupid machine up. It was a lot of money and has had more problems than our cheap one that lasted 14 years and was still going (we just wanted an "upgrade".)

Mine will work on a quick load, but I get an OE code on a normal or smart wash when it gets to about 29 minutes. The other thing is the timer is really off, it will say 114 for like five minutes. I have looked for a clog, had it serviced twice and it still won't complete a load. The thing is, I have NEVER been able to run it. I tried to have LG fix it since it was brand new, but I couldn't find my receipt and Home Depot would not give me a copy. So, even though they can see the manufacture date is within the year, they won't honor the warranty without a receipt. So it was a very expensive cat perch in my breezeway for about 18 months. I finally tried to blow it out and check the lines and the pump and they all seemed ok. I re-installed it and it stops at 29 minutes still. HELP!!! If anyone can help, I would be so impressed and forever grateful.

If you get the 0E error then check the float sensors. Pull the unit out and check the left side. There will be a clear plastic housing with wires attached to the top. If the plastic looks dirty then your float valve might be sticking open. It's a bit of a trick to pull it out, but you'll need to clean it out as well as the floats inside. The inside gets full of grime from the dishes and makes the float stick to the top, which makes the washer think that the water isn't draining. I just did this on mine and it's now working fine. Hope this helps.

I found a small circular rubber flap (about the size of a dime) in the drain hose just after the drain pump. Couldn't figure out where it was from so ran dishwasher without it. Sometimes worked, most of the times it failed. By the way, if you need to drain tub, press POWER then hold the NORMAL and DELICATE buttons for a few seconds and you will see "dr" on the screen - this activates drain cycle for a minute and then shuts off on its own. Nonetheless, I just found out where the circular valve goes so I reattached and put everything back together and I still get the error. DRAT!

Called LG support and they had me hold the phone up to dishwasher after I pressed and held RINSE I think it was and it sounded like a fax transmission. He came back and said my drain motor is bad. Not sure I trust that diagnosis. They offered a "flat rate repair" for $280! Are you kidding me???? I'm going to buy a drain pump motor and install it myself and hope that indeed is the issue. I should be able to do this for under $75...

I changed my drain pump because it wouldn't drain. Big pool in bottom of dishwasher. Sometimes I could remove drain hose at disposal and using an air blower on my air compressor hose, wrapping a towel around the end of pipe and blower to minimize water spray - could blow air down the tube and hear gurgle from inside dishwasher. Then it would run ok for a couple times. Back to OE code and no drain. So I got a new pump and installed it without pulling DW out. Just removed front lower cover and worked with it in the small space I had. Darn thing worked for a few loads then the dreaded OE again. Tried a different cycle and it worked 3 or 4 times on that cycle. Today it quit again. Remove hose, blow with compressed air, appears to be working again. Fitting to disposal not clogged, new drain pump, blew hose back to pump, What am I missing?

Lg oe error. Pumping strong stream of water out hose on occasion. Other occasions OE error shows. Dis assembled washer All lines clear, pump like new, no obstruction in pump, filter, or drain lines. Restart machine, same issue, pumps profusely at times, other times shows OE. No pattern of OE messages, just random. Is it possible it could be an electronic or power board issue. Thanks

UPDATE on my October 22 comment. I received and replaced the drain pump motor and ran a load and so far so good. The difference in drain stream was night and day - very powerful now. Repaired for well under $75 estimate at only $40. Hope it continues to work. Note: the motor did not come with a gasket so you need to order (or use the old one (if still good). Good luck!

My LG dishwasher, model LDF7551ST, was throwing the OE code indicating drain problems. I tried all the suggestions posted here designed to clear the drain hose - didn't fix the problem. Called an appliance repairman who quoted me $150 for a replacement pump/housing + $100 labor. I watched him remove the pump - he laid on his belly in front of the dw, toward the right side, took 90 seconds to remove it. I ordered the part for $42 online and replaced it myself. It was very easy. Didn't even have to move the dw or unhook power or hoses at all. Propped up my cell phone flashlight, attached 2 hose clamps and clipped in the power connection. Works perfect. I'm not terribly handy and don't have alot of tools as my hubby is not fond of doing repairs., but I did it with ease. Maybe this will help!

So here is what I did to solve this problem. I read and performed all possible tricks that were mentioned above. Cleaned inside taking everything apart. Checked hose. Blew high pressure air through all of them, all clear. Replaced drain pump. Took all hoses off cleaned put back in back of dishwasher. In the end nothing worked. Nothing at all and I tried it all. My saving grace was that my mom was moving and the new owner didn't want the current appliances. I took her 8 year old Fridgedair and replaced mine. It has been working fine. Not complaining of not draining fast enough or giving me any issues. Thanks LG for the year and four months I got out of you. Very disappointed and will leave a sour taste in my mouth for future purchases. Oh, and my LG stove had a few boards replaced within warranty for the self clean. Sorry won't go back.

Our LG LD1452WFEN2 was just out of warranty and started getting this error. I tried flushing the drain line, pushing through a drain unblocker etc, but it kept getting worse. The drain pump was making a grating noise so I thought it might have a toothpick or something stuck in there. After pulling out the pump I discovered the motor commutator had cracked and was scraping the side of the winding housing. New pump for AU$70 and it's as good as new. Glad I didn't bother with a technician, could've cost half what the machine did.

12 Answers

I had this problem. Here is the solution. You'll need a compressed air source, even a small compressor.Remove the hose from the pvc trap pipe under the sink. (one screw) Using a blow gun, force air back through the hose until water gurgles up in the dishwasher. Then watch the water drain.! Works every time. Hose needs to be bigger, bad design. Technician will charge you big bucks for same procedure. Good luck.

Jeff, you are a dead set legend. Was just about to buy a new one when I saw your tip. Hooked it up to my compressor with a garden hose reducer to drop the diameter down and its a goer. All done in 5 mins... Cheers

Mark 125 lbs is more than enough. It won't take much. Wrap a towel around the hose where the air blower to optimize pressure going in and hit it. Not sure about the check valve thing but it worked for me. For about 3 seconds I got nothing and then it gurgled and the water drained. If there is a check valve, the clog may have been on this side of that valve and the air pressure may have just blew up the food clog enough to dislodge it. Fyi rice always seems to be a problem so clean your plates of rice, Stuff turns into concrete. Good luck!

Be careful doing this my LG drain hose right at the pump has a one way valve that keep the drained water from coming back into the dishwasher after it is done pumping. You can break that valve (rubber disk) very easy. I thought it was a clog once and pushed my screwdriver right threw it.

Thanks this was most helpful... i used my vacuum cleaner. It has a blowing and suction function and the outlet pipe fits perfectly into the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner. The blowing didn't work though, in desperation i tried the suction. That worked perfectly. I also cleaned out all the filters. All working now and didn't cost anything. Thanks.

I thought it was time for repair guy. I tryed using LCR and a dishwasher cleaner no luck it kept stoping with the EO error. Then I saw this posted by Jeff and I disconnected the drain line that went int the garbage disposal tryed to blow it clean no luck. So I took a sponge got as much water out of the dishwasher as I could then stuck the air hose on the end of the drain line used some black tape to seal any air leaks turned on the air and water and food shot out in to the bottom of the dishwasher. Wiped it all out. Hooked the drain line Bach into the garbage disposal hit the rinse cycle to test it works like a million bucks. Thanks Jeff you are the man.

Thanks Jeff! Got the OE error message and was trying to figure out how to check the hose for blockage without tearing everything apart. Found this forum and gave your solution a try... works great! Didn't have a compressor, but tightened the hose clamp around the end of my bicycle tire pump. Thanks again!

Wasn't going to use my toilet plunger in my dishwasher and didn't want to buy a new one. Used a shop vac to blow into the drain hose and suck out of the drain sump. A couple of cycles of this and it works now.

Thanks it work ,but what happens i think is when we clean the filter screen particles fall into the dishwasher drain .in our case it was popcorn kernels so when you blow it out take the screen filter off and pickup any stuff so it does not go back in the drain, Doug K

I called LG's extended warranty dept because it's a repeat issue and the tech never can never seem to fix it. After 20 mins on hold the LG Rep said they would not be sending a repair technician and would instead get back to me within 5 business days with an 'alternate solution'. So, now I wait with sitting water at the bottom of my new-ish dishwasher for potentially a week only to then find out they will be potentially just sending me a check for the 'current market value' of my dishwasher. Frustrating.

Wife and I were ready to head out to buy new dishwasher and last ditch effort decided to do a little more research and stumbled upon your post - worked great thank goodness as we did not want to drop another 800 - 1000 for new unit.

A friend of mine was remodeling his home turned into a seasonal rental and he gave us the Direct Dishwasher he had installed, he said It worked at his house and I installed it and It worked for a few washes, now I get OE and it doesn't finish the wash. I pulled and cleaned the small basket out and sucked down where the basket fills up with a wet dry Vacuum and pulled the clamp off the PVC pile below the cabinet, I get a good portion of water but the code clears off and come back on/ How can I fix this. I don't have the extra money now, especially after Hurricane Irma. I did 3 loads without and issue and now the OE came back. I don't have a air tank to do the suggested.

The smaller tube, the siphon breaker, will bleed some air when you try to test the discharge tube by blowing into it from where it meets the discharge pump. This may lead you to think the tube isn't clogged further on or that the pump is weak. Try my advice above and truly clear the rest of the discharge piping before buying anything.

The dishwasher stop draining with non-obvious clog. What I did was to lower the drain connection from under sink to a container close to floor and use quick cycle( as opposed to Normal) and it started draining and working fine now. When I examined the container with the waste water there was nothing obvious that could have clogged the pipe. So it must be clogging to a "choke point" that has some kind of sensor to tell the control stop proceeded. Anyway, just lower the drain

The tech wouldn't fix it for free. He told me it was a clogged drain line and tried to get me to pay him $269 to fix it. I ended up calling the person who installed the dishwasher and he fixed it for free.

I have the exact same problem at 11 months. Same thing, called warranty repair, and they gave us a local repair guy. He came out, says it's a clogged hose, and would get a new one. We aren't paying - but it has been a month now --- and still no hose, and no dishwasher! says its on back order. What, is there a run on these hoses? Maybe this should be a recall issue. I want to dump the whole thing! 15 years with my kenmore -- issue free. What is this? We are also suspecting it is a programming error with the draining... Giving false readings on the level of water, and causing it to stop prematurely. Any thoughts?

I have the same OE issue, I took everything apart and checked al lines are free...ot will gravity drain just fine but at the end if the cycle it just won't pump. I check ohms reading on pump and is at recommended reading about 24 ohms. I applied power to the pump and it started pumping. So i cleaned everything and tried it and nothing. Still...nothing. So another fix it forum said probably the PCB circuit board. Bought it from Repair clinic.com and that didn't work either. So without a parts and wiring diagram I'm just guessing now. Is there some other switch that tells the PCB that the water is in the bottom and tells it start draining? I see no such switches except on the fill side there are two. Just wondering if there is a correlation to these floats and telling the PCB to send voltage to the drain pump.

So if any one here is a master LG tech ot had this issue maybe you can guide me to the next trouble shooting step. Thanks for anyone's help

My OE code showed up right after the warranty expired (go figure). Checked all drain lines, all clear. Replaced the drain pump, still with the code. In Canada you can't order parts without going through an LG authorized repair centre (a scam). I was guessing the circuit board also at this point. I took the entire thing apart and no idea what else it could be. Frustrating to say the least especially calling LG service line. "Here's the number of the service dealer, we want nothing more to do with you since we already got your money". Buying Samsung next time.

I got the OE error too. Pulled off the drain hose where it enters the household plumbing and turned on the dishwasher on to drain.....worked perfectly.

The problem was not with the dishwasher, the plugged drain was in the household plumbing. Used an air compressor to break the clog free, then pumped some water into the pipe and quickly blew more air into it with the compressor so that the pressurized water could push out any clog remnants.

Everything is working perfectly, hopefully it'll be good for another 5 years!

Had the same 0E error. And dishwasher wouldn't drain fully. I took the hose off at the sink and drained it into a bucket a few times at the start of the cycle, so the pump and drain were working.

I read the post about pumping air from the drain end of the hose. I use a can or air (like for computers) and sealed the hose with my finger against the aircan tube, and wallah, it gurgled and bubbled back up inside the bottom of the dishwasher. did this 2 more times. Ran the dishwasher and it worked fine. May have been a coincident or dumb luck, but tried everything short of taking it apart before this.

Is there a 'flapper valve' at some point from the drain to the connection to the garbage disposal? if so, what direction does it open and close? meaning if you blow air from the disposal toward the motor, the flapper valve is on the motor side.

Otherwise, if contrary, you blow compressed air from the disposal side you'd be blowing air, holding the 'flapper valve' shut. Is that right?

Oh by the way, I tried to force compressed air from what was suggested above including an air mattress pump but couldn't reproduce 'bubbling' effect. Perhaps not enough pressure. Do I need to rent and air compressor to get the desired air pressure?

I opened all the hoses and there is a rubber Flapper where the Black hose connects. I believe it is not stiff enough and will flip backwards. I can blow it with mouth and it opens the flow. The stupid pump is so week that even a small seed will cause the flapper to get stuck. This is the worst design we removed GE that was working perfectly for 20+ years to buy this fancy expensive machine. First time it clogged at month 11 and the repair man had replaced the tubing. Now I just blow in it happens every few months.

A big thank you to all of you. OE error light came on tonight a year after replacing the drainage impeller for £130. Thought I was going to be facing another big bill to repair. So took your advice and disconnected the drainage pipe a blew down it. Took a total of 2 minutes to do and now it's running perfectly. Thanks again.

Look beyond the drain pulll unit out and follow the drain hose up to the top. There is a small screen just between the hose couplings. Three cherry pits was all it took to block the flow enough to set off the sensor. Let me know if this solves yout problem.

For mine it seems to have been the small black vent hose drop the plastic piece in the middle of the drain hose to the plastic mechanism on the side of the dishwasher. I blew back through it and now it works...

It is possible on the display for a D to looks similar to an O. You probably have a DE error code which indicates a drain problem.

Check your drain line, make sure the drain hose is not kinked and is not blocked especially at the connection to the sink or garbage disposal. This is typically the reason that a dishwasher won't drain. Remove the hose and clear any clogs, then reinstall.

Verify that water from the sink drain is not making it's way into the dishwasher. I would recommend creating a high loop in the dishwasher drain pipe, which is attached to the sink drain below the sink. The high loop can be fastened to underneath the counter-top. This will prevent any water from entering the dishwasher from the sink; it also prevents the dishwasher drain water from making it's way back into the dishwasher.

Verify that the pumps drain impeller is working. You can reach the impeller from inside the dishwasher after removing the lower rack, spray arm and arm support. This typically involves removing a few screws. Once upper parts are removed, inspect the drain impeller (which pushes the water toward the drain port) for any cracks or missing blades. If the impeller is defective the water will not drain properly and you would need to replace it.

Verify that the drain valve is working; many are controlled with an electric solenoid that opens the valve, sending the water to the drain. There is a chance that the solenoid or the diverting lever could be stuck which would prevent the water to drain. If so, try to free up the solenoid and lubricate the lever. Otherwise the solenoid or pump assembly may have to be replaced.

Verify that the motor is turning/ working and that there is power to the motor. If the motor hums but doesn't turn, it may need to be replaced. Motors can get stuck if not used regularly. If the motor is defective, the water will not drain and you would need to replace it.

Woke up to the OE code. Read thru all posts and here is what I did. I removed the line off the drain under sink. Removed the line off pump. And used wet dry vac on line to get all water out. Then removed the pump off machine. Again using vac to control water, as no matter what I tried I could not get it to drain, Now with pump out. I could inspect. 2 cheery pits. Seeing as we have not had cherries in 6 months I think my pump has taken a hit. Anyways. Put it all back together and first load worked fine. Thanks 4 year old LG.

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